Heartwarming “Small Act” might open your wallet

In Kenya, the education system is in a state of disarray after years of civil unrest and decades of neglect, and as a result, many students never make it beyond primary school.

But when Chris Mburu shared his story in Jennifer Arnold’s “A Small Act,” he probably never expected to raise some well-intended cash that would ultimately benefit the struggling students.

We all remember the commercial with Sally Struthers pleading for a donation equal to the cost of a cup of coffee that could change a child’s life forever, and as the story goes, a mere $15 a month donated by an anonymous sponsor did indeed save Mburu from a life of coffee-bean picking.

He ended up going to Harvard Law School and now works for the United Nations but he always wondered who his donor was, and to tell a great story, he of course must find her.

Turns out it was a Swedish lady named Hilde Back. He assumed she was just some rich lady looking for a few tax breaks, but she was just a teacher paid a minimal salary and wanted to support a good cause.

Mburu knows he must make a great contribution to his Kenyan brethren and sets out to find Back. He does and they become good friends. He tells her he has a surprise for her and names a scholarship in her honor that would allow ten more African children just like him to attend secondary school, but the story doesn’t end there.

We follow the top three children from Mburu’s former school as they compete for the scholarship with hundreds of other Kenyan students.

But times are hard. They often miss class to work to support their families picking coffee beans (the village staple). They study when they can, sometimes by the light of an oil lamp if they’re lucky enough to have the resources for that, but the light burns out when money for the oil runs out, which is often. And they struggle to pass a test every primary student musts pass to go on.

Mburu would like a grade of 380 or more, but the top student in his village gets 322.

Some parents are old-fashioned and begin to believe an education is a waste of time and will not help the child serve the family or the struggling community, but others believe an education is their only way out.

It doesn’t look good for the future of their particular village but as it turns out, no one across the country did well.

In fact, that 322 is looking good and the top student in Mburu’s village ends up with one of the scholarships in spite of low test scores. He’s relieved, his family is relieved, and he wants to someday make a difference like Mburu did. He says he will study harder than he’s ever studied before.

This is an uncommon tale in Africa because as it usually goes, those who lack the necessary funds to go on are called upon by their parents to return to working the fields, after all, education in Africa is still considered a pipe dream.

Few will make it and it’s easy to see why. There’s no paper, no lamp oil, no library, extremely outdated books and no money – even if they did succeed.

Of course there is a website for donations, this is after all what documentaries are supposed to do, raise awareness…and funds, but if money is too much to ask, books or gently used uniforms might also be appreciated.

“Homecoming” featurette with Mburu and Back. They visit Mburu’s village in Kenya and Back even gets an honorary membership into his tribe

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Deleted scenes, including a closer look at the top two girl students in Mburu’s village who also get a scholarship thanks to the generosity of the production crew of A Small Act.

The Bottom Line: Too freaking heartwarming. Don’t watch this movie unless you are prepared to open up your wallet to help some poor kids get an education. You will want to. Repeat: Don’t watch this movie unless you are prepared to open up your wallet to help some poor kids get an education. (You’ve been warned.)